THE National Botanic Garden of Wales has struck gold in new award scheme for tourist attractions.

The Garden have received a gold Visit Wales rating for their excellent facilities and customer service.

Deputy Minister for Culture Sport and Tourism, Ken Skates announced the winners of Visit Wales’ new attraction accolades yesterday, (Wednesday) praising those who have been honoured for making an exceptional effort to create an enjoyable and memorable experience for their visitors.

The winners were selected through a scoring system based on a biennial assessment by Visit Wales.

There are four different categories, which are: Gold – for attractions that achieve excellence for their facilities and customer service; Best Told Story – for attractions that achieve excellence in conveying their ‘story’; Quality Café – for attractions that achieve excellence for their food; and Hidden Gem – quality attractions/places of interest with visitor numbers under 20,000 visitors per year

Head of Marketing and Communications at the Garden, David Hardy said: “This ‘excellence’ award is tremendous tribute to the hard work of our staff and volunteers.

“We all toil long and hard to make the Garden a must-see attraction for all visitors to the area and this gold award is a fitting tribute for all those efforts.”

Deputy Minister Mr Skates said: “Wales has such a wealth and range of attractions and things to do, our visitors are spoilt for choice.

“This new scheme will both reward those attractions which go the extra mile and also give visitors more information on what makes some of our attractions extra special and will also highlight some less well known gems.

“I’d like to congratulate all the 2016 winners and we hope that these accolades will drive further improvements in visitor experience throughout Wales.”